Pioneer VSX-1017AV-K - Manual (Page 68)

Additional information 13
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En
Windows Media TM Audio 9 Professional
Windows Media TM Audio 9 Professional (WMA9 Pro) is a
discrete surround format developed by Microsoft
Corporation.
WMA9 Pro can support up to 5.1/7.1 channel playback with
sampling rates up to 24-bit/96 kHz. Using the unique WMA
compression techniques, WMA9 Pro can deliver
multichannel music and soundtracks over high-speed
internet networks at low bit rates with minimal audio
degradation. Playback may be enjoyed with the Windows
Media TM Player 9 Series (or above) and other third-party
media players on a personal computer, or with an AV
amplifier with on-board WMA9 Pro decoding.
Windows Media TM and the Windows logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries.
About THX
The THX technologies are explained below. See
www.thx.com for more detailed information.
• THX Cinema processing
THX is an exclusive set of standards and technologies established by
THX Ltd. THX grew from George Lucas’ personal desire to make your
experience of the film soundtrack, in both movie theatres and in your
home theatre, as faithful as possible to what the director intended.
Movie soundtracks are mixed in special movie theatres called
dubbing stages and are designed to be played back in movie theatres
with similar equipment and conditions. This same soundtrack is then
transferred directly onto Laserdisc, VHS tape, DVD, etc., and is not
changed for playback in a small home theatre environment. THX
engineers developed patented technologies to accurately translate
the sound from the movie theatre environment into the home,
correcting the tonal and spatial errors that occur. On this product,
when the THX indicator is on, THX features are automatically added
in Cinema modes (e.g. THX Cinema, THX Surround EX).
• Re-Equalization
The tonal balance of a film soundtrack will be excessively bright and
harsh when played back over audio equipment in the home because
film soundtracks were designed to be played back in large movie
theaters using very different professional equipment. Re-Equalization
restores the correct tonal balance for watching a movie soundtrack in
a small home environment.
• Timbre Matching
The human ear changes our perception of a sound depending on the
direction from which the sound is coming. In a movie theatre, there is
an array of surround speakers so that the surround information is all
around you. In a home theatre, you use only two speakers located to
the side of your head. The Timbre Matching feature filters the
information going to the surround speakers so that they more closely
match the tonal characteristics of the sound coming from the front
speakers. This ensures seamless panning between the front and
surround speakers.
• Adaptive Decorrelation
In a movie theatre, a large number of surround speakers help create
an enveloping surround sound experience, but in a home theatre
there are usually only two speakers. This can make the surround
speakers sound like headphones that lack spaciousness and
envelopment. The surround sounds will also collapse into the closest
speaker as you move away from the middle seating position. Adaptive
Decorrelation slightly changes one surround channel’s time and
phase relationship with respect to the other surround channel. This
expands the listening position and creates—with only two speakers—
the same spacious surround experience as in a movie theatre.
• THX Select2
Before any home theatre component can be THX Select2 certified, it
must incorporate all the features above and also pass a rigorous
series of quality and performance tests. Only then can a product
feature the THX Select2 logo, which is your guarantee that the Home
Theatre products you purchase will give you superb performance for
many years to come. THX Select2 requirements cover every aspect of
the product including pre-amplifier and power amplifier performance
and operation, and hundreds of other parameters in both the digital
and analog domain.
• THX Surround EX
THX Surround EX - Dolby Digital Surround EX is a joint development
of Dolby Laboratories and the THX Ltd. In a movie theater, film
soundtracks that have been encoded with Dolby Digital Surround EX
technology are able to reproduce an extra channel which has been
added during the mixing of the program. This channel, called
Surround Back, places sounds behind the listener in addition to the
currently available front left, front center, front right, surround right,
surround left and subwoofer channels. This additional channel
provides the opportunity for more detailed imaging behind the
listener and brings more depth, spacious ambience and sound
localization than ever before. Movies that were created using the
Dolby Digital Surround EX technology, when released into the home
consumer market may exhibit wording to that effect on the
packaging. A list of movies created using this technology can be
found on the Dolby web site at www.dolby.com.
Only receiver and controller products bearing the THX Surround EX
logo, when in the THX Surround EX mode, faithfully reproduce this
new technology in the home.
This product may also engage the “THX Surround EX” mode during
the playback of 5.1 channel material that is not Dolby Digital
Surround EX encoded. In such case the information delivered to the
Surround Back channel will be program dependent and may or may
not be very pleasing depending on the particular soundtrack and the
tastes of the individual listener.
VSX-1017_HY.book Page 68 Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:53 PM